I sat down thinking I would just start reading Secrets at Wongan Creek by Juanita Kees. Usually I read for a while then come back to the book later but this book gripped me so that I forgot the time, reading it straight through. It has been a long time since I have done that. On my reader it was 168 pages so that’s quite a one-stop read but I was so involved in Tameka’s dire situation that all else around me fell by the wayside.

Part murder mystery, part childhood friends/ first and only love reunion, part family drama and all great story, this is one compelling read. The first book I have read by Juanita Kees but certainly not the last. The characters in first book in the series play a minor role in Secrets at Wongan Creek. Finding their book, Whispers at Wongan Creek, on sale I snatched it up, eager now to read more by this author.

The farming difficulties suggested in the preview does not even begin to prepare me for the twists and turns I did not see coming. This is an upcoming author with an amazing ability to tell a story.

An ARC of the book was given to me by the publisher through Net Galley.

Today is release day for my rural romance, Secrets at Wongan Creek. Since it contains elements of suspense, I knew that when I told Tameka’s story, there would be a mixed bag of reviews. This book might not appeal to everyone, and that was something I understood even as Tameka’s story unfolded on the page.

The long-reaching effects of difficult relationships, whether physical or emotional, is not something everyone will understand. So this story was written for, and is dedicated to, those who will never truly be able to answer the question everyone will ask a victim of domestic violence—why did she stay? Some will almost certainly find her circumstances confronting, sometimes even a little frustrating. Imagine then how Tameka felt.

Domestic violence is a confronting subject, one that more often than not gets swept under the carpet. So why then did I choose such a deep and often misunderstood conflict for Tameka’s character? The answer is simple: because monsters like Louis Chalmers exist and Tameka, more than anyone, deserved a chance to love and be loved, to find a safe haven within which to rebuild her life, with a man who would love her unconditionally.

Many will wonder (and maybe even be annoyed at) why she didn’t just walk away. Louis wasn’t her husband, there was nothing to hold her to him except her love for the farm, the boy next door and the hope that one day her mother would come home.

When writing this story, I did extensive research on the reasons why adult survivors continue relationships with abusive parents. I hope that you will find it in your hearts to understand as Tameka goes through the healing process after long-buried secrets surface in Wongan Creek. That you will learn to love her and cheer her on as she emerges from the past that has kept her prisoner. Most of all, I hope you’ll fall in love with Harley, Tameka and Loki.

Blurb:

Still waters run deep in Wongan Creek…

When spray drift ruins his crop and throws his ability to hold on to the family farm into question, Harley Baker wants to confront his neighbour and shout his rage and worry to the sky. But arguments are tricky when the woman whose herbicides killed his crop is also the woman he’s loved his whole life.

Tameka Chalmers knows that her father’s farming methods are outdated, inefficient, and even dangerous, so when Harley charges her with the loss of his livelihood, she can only accept the blame. There’s so much she would like to do differently, but her father’s rule is absolute and if she wants to keep working the farm she loves, she must do as she’s told.

But the simple action of speaking with Harley, the man she wants but can never have, starts an unexpected chain reaction of events that throw everything she’s ever known into question: her past, her family, her life. Dark secrets come to light and when Tameka is injured in a house fire, she and Harley have one small chance to seize a lifetime of happiness, if only they are able to rise from the ashes and claim it.